Thursday, January 17, 2013

Dancing Myself Healthy, That's the Plan

Thank you to Ubisoft for sponsoring this post. Please visit Ubi.com to learn more about Ubisoft. I was selected for this opportunity as a member ofClever Girls Collective.
#UbiChamps #UbiHipHop
I hate exercising for exercises sake. I am horrible at sports. Turtles will outrun me in a race. I was picked last for every team during school. I still can't look at a rubber
dodge ball without shuddering.
I stayed in shape by dancing. I did modern dance and learned Scottish and English Country dance when I performed at the renaissance festival. I had to stop during the mother
of all ankle injuries and lots of physical therapy. I got better but life got
in the way. I stopped dancing. I got a more sedentary job. I gained more weight
than the body mass index (BMI) for my height says I should.

I gained this chunk around my tush and hips all on whole foods and fresh vegetables.

My doctor said the extra weight I gained as side effect to a
medication should drop right off once I stopped taking it. Two years later, I
am still waiting. The way only I'm going to get back to the healthy BMI range
for my height is to exercise. Husband suggested I go with him to his gym at
work. He reminded me they have a game system so I don't have to work on boring
machines or treadmill.

Part of my plan is to get my cardio in usingThe Hip Hop Dance Experience by Ubisoft. The Hip Hop Experience
follows the same format, as Ubisoft's other dance games like Dance Party and
Dance Battle modes. It also has a Dance Marathon mode where you keep dancing
continuous songs until you are too tired to score and it ends the game. I use
Dance Marathon mode as my personal aerobics class because if I try to putz
around in between songs (as I do when I play dance games by myself) it is game
over.

I'm not really into hip hop, but there are three features that make me grab The Hip Hop Dance
Experience over my other dance games. The first one is the Power Skooling mode
that gives you a step by step tutorial on how to do each move like a dance
class. Yeah it is a game and yeah I'm doing it more for exercise than a high
score but I'm a dancer at heart and I like to do things correctly.
I like they have forward and backward facing avatars to follow on screen. I'm used to learning
choreography with a teacher standing with their back to me but I can see their
front in mirror. Again, my perfectionism takes over.

Ignore my score. I let this song run without playing so I could take a photo of the screen.

The thing I like most about this game is it has Dance Breaks. It
gives you a break to cool down or chug water during an instrumental break in
the song. I am all for raising my heart rate but I have some dance games
that go full blast high energy through the whole song. I can't do more than
three or so songs on those games without passing out. I should take that as
another sign that I’m out of shape.

Once the weather warms up, I will switch my exercise routine from indoor dance games to riding
my bike on our new bike trail. Sure, a year round non-electric based exercise
routine would be greener but this is snowy Ohio. You have to adapt the outdoor routines
during Snow Slush Mud season. Using the Wii fits into my schedule better than
taking a formal dance class too.

I love ChicoBags for traveling! It folds up in your suitcase so you can fill it will souvenirs. They are so lightweight and durable I often use mine as my main suitcase. Click the photo below for more info!

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